Partitions for passenger vehicles are used to separate the interior space for different uses. According to one common type of partition used in law enforcement vehicles, the rear seat area (typically suited for two passengers) is separated from the front seat area (typically suited for a driver and a passenger) by a partition. This type of partition separates one or two law enforcement officers seated in the front seat area from one, two or sometimes three rear seat occupants, such as suspects and other individuals, thereby reducing the risks of injury to the law enforcement officers from the rear seat occupants, as well as restricting the ability of the rear seat occupants to escape from the vehicle.
Law enforcement officers spend many hours in their vehicles each day, so vehicle partition mounting schemes that provide a full range of front seat adjustment, both in terms of fore-aft translation of the seat and pivoting of the seat back, are highly sought after. At the same time, however, law enforcement vehicles are becoming smaller because of the need for greater fuel economy. In addition, rear seat legroom is also compromised in today's newest vehicle models that are used in law enforcement. In some cases, it is necessary to compromise and provide for full adjustability of the driver's seat and less adjustability of the front passenger seat while also seeking to maximize the available rear seat legroom within a number of constraints. It would be beneficial to maintain or increase the free area available to rear seat occupants for ingress into and egress from the vehicle.